Pear Bureau Northwest has named 39 winners of its second annual “Pear Up with USA Pears” display contest.

The contest invited all retailers from across the United States and Canada to build an eye-catching display that features Green Anjou, Red Anjou and Bosc pears at minimum, with inclusion of other varieties of USA Pears encouraged.

To qualify for the contest, the display was required to be maintained for at least one week during the January-to-March timeframe.

As a socially responsible, grower-owned company, Turbana realizes that sustainability of its crop and the people who produce it is paramount to continued success. Turbana focuses on creating win-win partnerships with retailers and their communities that seek not only to promote positive change, but also to provide a boost to the sales of its retail partners.

As retailers strive to deliver the highest quality fruit possible to their customers, the installation of new ripening rooms is continuing at a breakneck pace, according to Jim Lentz, president at Thermal Technologies in Blythewood, SC.

And he should know. As the largest manufacturer of banana ripening rooms in the industry, Thermal Tech recently completed its second major plant expansion in three years, a new 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

There’s nothing pleasing to a produce supplier’s ears than to hear positive feedback about the product it is supplying to its customers. And that’s exactly what A.J. Trucco is hearing about its new Chilean gold kiwifruit program.

Raley’s is getting ready to launch a program to market aesthetically imperfect produce at a lower price point. The pilot program, “Real Good” produce, will start off in 10 Northern California stores beginning mid-July. Made possible by a partnership with Imperfect Produce, it enhances the produce offerings at Raley’s.

In the United States, over 40 percent of food grown is wasted, for many reasons, including aesthetic standards, according to Raley's. The new program aims to find a new home for the imperfect produce, which otherwise would have gone to waste.

VISALIA, CA — It has been another challenging year for California citrus growers, who have struggled against historic drought conditions, the Asian Citrus Psyllid and accelerated maturity during the past season.

“It has been no fun for growers,” Al Bates, president of Sun Pacific Farming, said June 17 at the company’s grower recruitment meeting. “But demand for Cuties is still greater than the supply.”